they're trying to hold the core of the city, the main stronghold for president bashar al-assad. in northern mali, french ground troops battled islamist rebels overnight, outside the city of gao. it was new evidence that while the french have retaken key cities, the insurgents have not yet been routed from the countryside. meanwhile, french and malian soldiers found caches of industrial-strength explosives and makeshift bomb labs. the rebels had hidden them outside gao. u.s. investigators said today they are not ready to rule that lithium ion batteries used in boeing's 787 dreamliners are inherently unsafe for aviation. instead, the national transportation safety board said manufacturers need to build in better safeguards. at the same time, the board said investigators are still weeks away from determining what caused a battery fire on a japan airlines dreamliner in boston. in the meantime, all 50 of the planes in service, remain grounded. budget battle cries echoed up and down pennsylvania avenue in washington today. president obama called yesterday for a small package of tax hi